Bag package with fork-lift handling means



Sept. 9, 1 952 B. E. SIMONTON 2,609,923

BAG PACKAGE WITH FORK-LIFT HANDLING MEANS 2 smears-swam 1 Filed Oct. 27. 1949 ,U 1 24 l g l I A' R I 0a l 21 f *3 4/ a W I l S I i I 5 A s 1 13/ 46/ 44 4 4 11 1 -INVENTOR. Bum) ESH IONTON.

Sept 9, 1952 B. E. SIMONTON BAG PACKAGE WITH FORK-LIFT HANDLING MEANS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 37, 1949 I Bum) E.5|MoNToN,

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 9, 1952 BAG PACKAGE WITH FORK-LIFT HANDLING MEANS Budd E. Simonton, Watertown, N. Y., assignor' to St. Regis Paper Company, New corporation ofINew York York, N. Y., a

, Application was 27, 1949, Serial No. 123,920

This invention relates to thepacking of loads of sheet material for shipment and more partioularly to a method for packing bags fOrshipmerit and handling as a unitary load.

,"A load of bags packed in accordance with this novel methodis adaptedto facilitate the storage and the handling thereof by so-called fork-lift trucks having hand or power operated fork-lift means associated therewith.

. In the past, in preparing for shipment loads of bags or superposed layers of sheet material, for example of paper, it has been common practice to fpalletize the load by placing or securing same upon a suitable pallet which normally consists'of parallel spaced platforms which permit the insertion between such platforms of the fingers of a .lilt truck, the superposed bags upon the pallet being secured thereto by suitable means such as steel bands or cord. One of the many disadvantages theuse of certain types of such pallets heretofore proposed has been their expense. For example, in the case of, wooden pallets it has been foundthat they are usually sufilciently expensive. to .make it necessary to return them to the o-wner or to theshipper or else to add ithe cost thereof to that of the palletized material, Bothof these courses are believed to be undesirable. Attempts to solve this problem have beenrnade which include the use of paper pallets-constructed, for example, of corrugated paper board.- However successful the latter efforts may be, and although such latter efforts have assisted in solving this problem, there is always the factor of the space which is occupied by such pallets regardless of their expense. That is} pellets and palletizing methods heretofore proposed have. beenunder the disadvantage in that a substantial volume of space has been 00- cuoied by the pallet itself which space is to a degree, wasted... Furthermore, in certain industries, such as the paper bag industry where unit costs are extremelylow, heavy and expensive pallets cannot economically be" used and the same is true with respect to pallets which occupy substantial volumesrof spaoebecause where material shipped, for example, inbox cars or trailers, most emcient use of shipping space, cannot be made. c

, Also, in stacking palletized loads which are palletized in accordance with prior .practice, there i has been a substantial tendency to damagethe load next beneath the pallet becauseof the rigid nature of such pallet whereby it is capable'of tearing such lower load when being moved.

One of the objects of the present invention is V "SCIaims. (Cl. 206'-60) 2 to overcome the above difficulties by eliminating the necessity for a pallet but still retaining the advantages of a pallet.

The invention, in one aspect thereof, comprises a method which consists in placing a pair of hollow straight tubular core members in substantially parallel relationship and disposing on either side thereof and above, or around said tubular core members one or a plurality of stacks of bags, the core memberspreferably being near the bottom of such stack or stacks, and thereafter binding together the stacks of bags with the core members therein wherebythe load of bags is made integral or into a unit whereupon the fingers of a fork-:lift truck ma enter the parallel tubular members for moving the unit load as desired. 2

Various further and more specific objects, features and advantages of the invention will clearly appear from the detailed description, given below taken ,in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and illustrate, by way of example, preferred ar- Fig. 2 is an end view of a stack of bags associated with a pair of hollow tubular members,

which stack and members are arranged in accordanoe with another modification of the novel sive and easily disposable material.

method described herein; and

Fig. 3 is aperspeotive view of a stack of bags which have been bound and prepared for shipment in accordance with one form of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, it will be seen in Fig. 1 that a pair of parallel spaced tubular members It, H are associated with a stack of bags I2. The tubular members l0 and H are straight, hollow and parallel and in the pallets heretofore proposed for palletizing stacks of bags.

The novel method in one form thereof produces the superposed bags with associated tubular members as shown in Fig. l and is adapted for preparing a plurality of, for example, multi-wall bags for shipment. Such bags may have one end thereof taped and sewn and the other end thereof open. A plurality of groups of bags, in this particular form of the invention, as at [3, i l

and 15 are disposed at the bottom of the pile and are in side-by-side adjacent relationship wherein a portion of the group I4 overlaps as at Ma a portion of the group IS. The longitudinal axes of said groups areparallel. There are disposed in parallel relationship and upon the groups [3 and [5 the tubular members In and l l which are positioned in parallel relation ship spaced apart a distance equal to the dis-' tance between the forks of a fork-lift member. In between said tubular members It and II there are mounted a plurality of groups of bags which may be staggered as shown and the longitudinal axes of which may be parallel to those of said groups 13, I 4 and 15. Thus a generally firm foundation is formed, between the tubular members, for the bags to be superposed thereupon. It will be noted that certain of the extremities of the bag groups as at It bear the designation .s and certain others bear the designation 0 which refer respectively to the fact that the bag group presents sewn or open ends as viewed in this figure.

' To the left and right respectively of the tubular members 1!] and H, as viewed in Fig. 1, there preferably are positioned a plurality of bag groups which in thickness are at least equal to and preferably slightly greater than the thickness'of the group it above described. For example, to the left of tubular member In there are positioned bag groups I! and I8 which respectively present to viewin Fig. 1 sewn and open ends, and each group has been folded substantially upon its longitudinal axis so that each in effect is folded double. Analogous bag groups as at l9 and 2e are positioned to the right of the tubular member I i and are similarly folded. The reason for so folding the bag groups I'l-2ll inclusive, is to insure that the superposed bags will not extend beyond the borders of the stack as defined by the periphery of the collective bag groups I3, l4 and IS.

The longitudinal axes of all of the bag groups above described are parallel. The individual bags here employed are substantially twice as long as they are wide.

For purposes of clarity, in order to represent clearly the many bag groups, the latter are shown in Fig. l to be rigid which, of course, is not normally the case. Further it is understood that normally the bag groups are flexible in view of the fact that the bags are madeof paper or the like.

Above bag groups [3-20, additional groups of bags may be superposed, for example, as shown, wherein there is aplurality of groups as at 2i and 22, the longitudinal axes of which are perpendicular to or extend transversely of those of the bag groups therebelow, said groups 2| having sides as at 2| :1 which are in alignment with the ends of the bag groups therebelow, and having ends as at 2lb which are in alignment with the sides of the bag groups therebelow. The bag groups 2|, in the form shown, include three separate groups and sandwiched in between the central or lowermost group thereof is an intermediate bag group as at 23 and between said central group and uppermost group is another bag group as at 24.

The bag groups 22 are analogously disposed and are associated with bag groups analogous to 23 and 24. It will be noted, of course, that the bags of group 2! are -not fully in register with, that is, they do'not fully overlap, the bag groups 23 and 24 but are so disposed that the combined groups extend from one side of the stack l2 to the other side, the longitudinal axes thereof remaining substantially parallel.

A plurality of groups of bags are superposed upon those previously described with certain of them having their axes parallel to the axes of the tubular members and certain others perpendicular thereto whereby an integrated stack of' bags is made which, by virtue of such angular disposition of the axes of the bag groups, is stable and will hold together without collapsing or falling over. Means are provided for binding the stack together to prepare it for shipment comprising bands, as at 25 (Fig. 3), which may be bound around the stack in planes which are parallel to the axes of the tubular members and perpendicular to the base of the stack as shown in Fig. 3 or, if desired, such bands may be in planes perpendicular to the axes of the tubular members.

If desired, the entire stack of bags may be protected by suitable covering as at 26, the latter being for example of paper, and being positioned around the vertical surfaces of the stack and there secured by suitable means such as adhesive. Top and bottom covers as at 21 and 28 may also be provided of similar sheet material and also held in place by adhesive. Such sheet material may be easily punctured for the admission of the fingers of a fork-lift truck.

The stack of bags shown in Fig. 2 is analogous to that shown in Fig. 1 except that the tubular members are of rectangular cross-section and are not directly supported by bag groups therebeneath but may rest upon the bottom sheet cover member 28, if such is used. Within the purview of the novel method herein described, the bags are disposed with respect to such hollow tubular members of rectangular cross-section as at 29 and 30 as follows: said tubular members 29 and 30 are disposed upon a suitable horizontal surface as at 3| in parallel spaced relationship. The bags to be packed for shipment or handling by forklift apparatus are generally similar to those described in connection with Fig. 1 except that both ends thereof are taped and sewn. Such bags are oblong in shape and substantially twice as long as they are wide. It has been found desirable to form a pile of bags and prepare same for shipment which in length is approximately one and one-half times a bag length and in width is equal to the length of a bag. A horizontal section through the pile of bags shown in Fig, 2 is substantially of such dimensions. The tubular members 29 and 30 must be actually spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the tines or fingers of the fork of a forklift device. Such distance preferably is slightly in excess of the width of one of the bags and it has been found desirable to dispose said members 29, 30, as shown in Fig. 2, with a small stack or group of bags disposed therebetween as at 32. The longitudinal axes of the tubular members 29'and 30 are parallel to such axes of the bags forming the group 32, the latter being between and in contact with said tubular members. Thus the group of bags 32 is disposed adjacent the inner sides of the tubular members 29 andfifi. Positioned adjacent the outer sides of said tubular members 29, 30 are bag groups as at 33, 34, respectively, which are foldeddouble and placed with the longitudinal axes thereof also parallel to those of said tubular members and in contact throughout their lengths with their respective tubular members. The depth of the folded bar; groups 33 and 34 are preferably equal to or slightly greater than the depth of the tubular members 29, 30. Thus there is formed a firm founda tion upon which can be built the remainder of the pile of bags. The length of the pile is preferably, as above mentioned, about one and onehalf the length of a bag and such length is indi cated in Fig. 2 wherein the distance from the lefthand edge of the bag group 33 to the righthand edge of the bar group 34 bears substantially such relationship with a bag length.

The pile of bags which are superimposed above the bag groups 32-34 and about the tubular members 29 and 39, as shown in Fig. 2, is made up of a plurality of units, each of which is cornposed of a plurality of bag groups disposed follows: a pair of bag groups 35 and 96 are placed in partially overlapping relationship such that the respective ends thereof at 35c and film are ".1 alignment with their respective but opposite extremities of the pile. The longitudinal axes of said groups 35 and 35 are, of course, in alignment and are perpendicular to the axes of groups 32-9 5, inclusive. Directly adjacent, and on the same level with, the groups 35 and 35 a second pair of partially overlapping bag groups is positioned, one of which is shown as at 31. The sides of such analogous latter pair of bag groups are preferably in contact with the sides of the bag groups 35 and The term bag group side as used herein refers to a side surface composed of a plurality of aligned side edges of the bags of a group.

Next above the bag groups 35, 36 and the second pair of such groups on the same level, there is disposed a pair of bag groups 38 and 39, the axe of which are parallel to the tubular members 29 and 30, and which are positioned each with a side thereof in alignment with the side of the pile, that is, the outer corners of such groups 38 and 39 are brought into substantial alignment with corresponding outer corners of the bag groups therebeneath.

The unit of bag groups described above is indicated collectively at 40 and a plurality of such units are superimposed thereupon to make up the entire pile indicated generally at 4|.

The open ends of the tubular members H], II and 29, 30, of course, are freely accessible and are substantially coincident with the opposite vertical faces of their respective bag piles. The lengths of said tubular members, in the forms shown, are equal to a has length and thus substantially equal to the width of a bag pile.

The bag piles shown in Figs. 1 and 2 both may be bound by bands 25 with or without being covered.

While the invention has been described with respect to certain preferred examples which have given satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A package of superimposed fibrous sheets comprising: a pair of hollow tubular core members in spaced substantially parallel relationship, the core members each having an orifice at least at one end thereof; a pair of sheet groups each consisting of superimposed fibrous sheets, the thickness of each group bein substantially equal to the depth of the core members, one such group being placed along the outer side of one of the core members and the other such group being placed along the outer side of the other core member; another group of such sheets occupying the space between such core members; a plurality of such sheets superimposed on said core members and groups of sheets; and means binding the entire pile of sheets, the plane of such binding means being substantially perpendicular to a plane containing the axes of such core members.

2. A package of bags comprising: a pair of 1101- low tubular core members in spaced substantiah ly parallel relationship, the core members each having an orifice at least at one end thereof, a plurality of groups of stacked bags in substantially aligned relationship positioned between said core members and along the outer sides thereof, a plurality of bags mounted upon said core members and groups of bags, and a band member embracing the package of bags and holding same together as a unitary load together with said core members, the latter being positioned with the orifices thereof accessible from a common exterior side of the package.

3. A package of bags comprising: a pair of hollow core members positioned in substantially horizontal parallel spaced relationship; a plurality of bags positioned between said core members and along the outer sides thereof; a pile of bags superimposed upon said core members and first-mentioned bags; and means binding said bags and placing same under compression with compressive forces acting substantially perpendicular to a plane containing the axes of said core members.

BUDD E. SIMONTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name ,Date

1,201,906 Woodruff Oct. 17, 1916 1,376,757 Graham May 3, 1921 1,922,560 Sullivan Aug. 1.5, 1933 2,078,959 McDonnell May 4, 1937 2,328,397 Neuman Aug. 31, 1943 2,342,565 Weeks Feb. 22, 1944 2,385,407 Endress Sept. 25, 1945 

